Imagine, the University Heights area was a residential gem: with the help of efforts from UB, it may not that far-fetched of an idea.
To students, the Heights area is known for its affordable, low-quality housing. To UB and the Buffalo community, it's a troublesome area that still shows a great deal of promise. With the help of the Office of Community Relations, the Heights may see a complete turnaround on the horizon.
Through a series of meetings, the Office of Community Relations is attempting to mediate communication between UB and Buffalo to solve major housing issues within the Heights.
Currently there is no cohesive plan to achieve the desired goals of many within the community according to Vince Clark, the director of the Office of Community Relations.
For Clark, the renovation of the Heights is a personal project. A Buffalo native, Clark resides within the Heights and understands the daily housing issues that students face.
"I think it's time we come together, student-university-community, to come up with a cohesive strategy, not 20 years from now but a few a months from now," Clark said. "Without communicating with one another, (nothing) will be accomplished."
According to Clark, with UB's 2020 plan for growth on the horizon, asking questions about new housing and how that housing will effect the community and local businesses is more important than ever.
"We have been working on several quality of life issues in the Heights," said Pamela Beal, an adjunct professor and senior research support specialist with the Office of Public Service and Urban Affairs. "We will be meeting with several community stakeholders about developing a housing strategy for the area that would include problems (such as) absentee landlords and poor quality rental properties."
The first in a series of upcoming meetings on the first of May will focus on some of the most prominent issues in the Heights including crime and run-down housing.
Taking action to encourage strong community leaders and business owners to start investing in the Heights is a major component in rejuvenating the area, Clark said. Purchasing blocks of housing in order to eliminate satellite landlords and getting students to be more active in the community is only the start of what can be done to provide solutions.
UB is already dedicated to solving problems within the Heights and making it more evident. President Simpson recently increased UB's investment in the home loan guaranty program from $1 million to $5 million this year. The program encourages UB employees to purchase and renovate homes within the Heights.
UB will finance up to 120 percent of each home for employees participating in the program, meaning that the entire cost of the residency will be financed, according to Clark.
"Right now there are 14 employees participating in the home loan guaranty program," Clark said. "If we could see an increase in that number from 14 employees to an additional 15 to 20 every year, that would be a tremendous improvement."
Many students living in the Heights feel that greater involvement on the part of UB could make their lives a lot easier.
"I would like to see the Heights cleaned up and look a little nicer," said Joe D'Angelo, a junior architecture major. "Although I moved off campus to get away from some aspects of college, I would like to see the university be a little more compassionate to the situation students are in when they live off campus."
Residents of the Heights agree that UB's input could make a significant impact.
"I've lived in the Heights for a while now and I haven't seen UB do much to make it a decent place for students to live," said Adia Harri, a UB alumna. "We're right next to one of the campuses, so you would think this would be a nicer place to live. Instead, in some areas, it's like living in the ghetto."
In a comprehensive report put together by a task force assembled by President Simpson, made up of university officials and professors, elected community officials call for the university to take an active role in stabilizing the Heights area.
Clark suggests that UB hold educational programs for students in order to inform them about their rights and responsibilities while living in an urban environment.
UB students currently participate in a variety of programs to help improve the conditions of the Heights, which Clark would like to see increased involvement in. Students clean up graffiti, hold sports clinics for residential youths and help inform other students in the area of their tenant rights and building codes.
In their report, the task force suggested making community service a mandatory requirement for undergraduates as an effort to bridge the gap between students and the community.
"The relationship between students and the community doesn't have to be that of an adversary," Clark said. "It can be a partnership with the university playing the role of the mediator."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
